WritingReports

BJECTIVES

ONTENTS

By the end of this section you should be able to :

• Understand the purposes of a report

• Plan a report

• Understand the structure of a report

• Collect information for your report

• Organise your information

• Use an appropriate style of writing

• Present data effectively

• Understand how to lay out yourinformation in an appropriate way

• Writing reports

• Different types of reports

• Stages in report writing

• Terms of reference

• Planning your report

• Collecting information

• Organising information

• Structuring your report

• Style of writing

• Layout

• Presentation

• Redrafting and checking

• Checklist

O

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Writing Reports 2

Writing reportsA report is a statement of the results of an investigation orof any matter on which definite information is required.

(Oxford English Dictionary)

Reports are a highly structured form of writing oftenfollowing conventions that have been laid down toproduce a common format. Structure and conventionin written reports stress the process by which theinformation was gathered as much as the informa-tion itself.

During your time at university you may be asked towrite different types of reports, depending upon thesubject area which you have chosen. These couldinclude laboratory reports, technical reports, reportsof a work placement or industrial visit, reports of afield trip or field work.

Reports vary in their purpose, but all of them willrequire a formal structure and careful planning,presenting the material in a logical manner usingclear and concise language.

The following section explores each stage in thedevelopment of your report, making recommenda-tions for structure and technique.

The following stages are involved in writing a report:

• clarifying your terms of reference

• planning your work

• collecting your information

• organising and structuring yourinformation

• writing the first draft

• checking and re-drafting.

Different typesof reports

Stages in reportwriting

Writing Reports 3

The terms of reference of a report are a guiding state-ment used to define the scope of your investigation.You must be clear from the start what you are beingasked to do. You will probably have been given anassignment from your tutor but you may need todiscuss this further to find out the precise subject andpurpose of the report. Why have you been asked towrite it ?

Knowing your purpose will help you to communi-cate your information more clearly and will help youto be more selective when collecting your informa-tion.

Careful planning will help you to write a clear,concise and effective report, giving adequate time toeach of the developmental stages prior to submis-sion.

• Consider the report as a whole

• Break down the task of writing the reportinto various parts.

• How much time do you have to write thereport?

• How can this be divided up into thevarious planning stages?

• Set yourself deadlines for the variousstages.

Draw up an outline structure for your report andset the work within a sensible time scale for com-pletion by the given deadline.

Some of the most time-consuming parts of theprocess are collecting and selecting your informa-tion, and checking and revising your report.

Terms ofreference

Planning yourreport

Writing Reports 4

There are a number of questions you need to askyourself at this stage :-

• What is the information you need ?

• Where do you find it ?

• How much do you need ?

• How shall you collect it ?

• In what order will you arrange it ?

You may have much of the information you needalready such as results from a laboratory experimentor descriptions of your methods of data collection.However, there may be other material which isneeded such as background information on otherresearch studies, or literature surveys. You may needto carry out some interviews or make a visit to theuniversity library to collect all the information youneed.

• Make a list of what information you need.

• Make an action plan stating how you aregoing to gather this.

The Information Technology Skills Guide containsmuch useful advice on the use of electronic informa-tion sources. This guide is available from the Univer-sity's Flexible Learning Initiative.

One helpful way of organising your information intotopics is to brainstorm your ideas into a ‘spiderdiagram.’

• Write the main theme in the centre of apiece of paper.

• Write down all the ideas and keywordsrelated to your topic starting from thecentre and branching out along lines ofconnecting ideas.

Collectinginformation

Organisinginformation

Writing Reports 5

• Each idea can be circled or linked by linesas appropriate.

• When you have finished, highlight anyrelated ideas and then sort topics.

• Some ideas will form main headings, andothers will be sub-sections under theseheadings.

• You should then be able to see a patternemerging and be able to arrange yourmain headings in a logical order (seediagram below).

Further advice concerning the organising of materialcan be found in another section of this Study Guide,Taking notes.

We discussed earlier that there are different types ofreport such as laboratory reports or reports on anindustrial placement. Always check with the personcommissioning the report (your tutor, your place-ment supervisor) to find out precisely what yourreport should include and how it should be pre-sented. The following common elements can befound in many different reports:

Structuringyour report

REPORT WRITING

Writing Reports 6

• Title page

• Acknowledgements

• Contents

• Abstract or summary

• Introduction

• Methodology

• Results or findings

• Discussion

• Conclusion and recommendations

• References

• Appendices

We shall now look at each of these in turn.

Title page

This should include the title of the report (whichshould give a precise indication of the subject mat-ter), the author’s name, module, course and the date.

Acknowledgements

You should acknowledge any help you have receivedin collecting the information for the report. This maybe from librarians, technicians or computer centrestaff, for example.

Contents

You should list all the main sections of the report insequence with the page numbers they begin on. Ifthere are charts, diagrams or tables included in yourreport, these should be listed separately under a titlesuch as ‘List of Illustrations’ together with the pagenumbers on which they appear.

Abstract or summary

This should be a short paragraph summarising themain contents of the report. It should include a shortstatement of the main task, the methods used, con-clusions reached and any recommendations to bemade. The abstract or summary should be concise,informative and independent of the report.

Write this section after you have written the report.

Writing Reports 7

Introduction

This should give the context and scope of the reportand should include your terms of reference. Stateyour objectives clearly, define the limits of the report,outline the method of enquiry, give a brief generalbackground to the subject of the report and indicatethe proposed development.

Methodology

In this section you should state how you carried outyour enquiry. What form did your enquiry take ? Didyou carry out interviews or questionnaires, how didyou collect your data ? What measurements did youmake ? How did you choose the subjects for yourinterviews ? Present this information logically andconcisely.

Results or findings

Present your findings in as simple a way as possible.The more complicated the information looks, themore difficult it will be to interpret. There are anumber of ways in which results can be presented.Here are a few :

• Tables

• Graphs

• Pie charts

• Bar charts

• Diagrams

Illustration checklist

• Are all your diagrams / illustrationsclearly labelled?

• Do they all have titles?

• Is the link between the text and thediagram clear?

• Are the headings precise?

• Are the axes of graphs clearly labelled?

• Can tables be easily interpreted?

• Have you abided by any copyright lawswhen including illustrations/tables frompublished documents?

Writing Reports 8

Discussion

This is the section where you can analyse and inter-pret your results drawing from the informationwhich you have collected, explaining its significance.Identify important issues and suggest explanationsfor your findings. Outline any problems encounteredand try and present a balanced view.

Conclusions and recommendations

This is the section of the report which draws togetherthe main issues. It should be expressed clearly andshould not present any new information. You maywish to list your recommendations in separatesection or include them with the conclusions.

References

It is important that you give precise details of all thework by other authors which has been referred towithin the report. Details should include :

• author’s name and initials

• date of publication

• title of the book, paper or journal

• publisher

• place of publication

• page numbers

• details of the journal volume in which thearticle has appeared.

References should be listed in alphabetical order ofthe authors' names.

Make sure that your references are accurate andcomprehensive.

Appendices

An appendix contains additional information relatedto the report but which is not essential to the mainfindings. This can be consulted if the reader wishesbut the report should not depend on this. You couldinclude details of interview questions, statisticaldata, a glossary of terms, or other information whichmay be useful for the reader.

Writing Reports 9

Style of writing

There are several points that you will need to con-sider when you are writing your report:

Active or passive?

Your tutor will be able to advise whether the reportshould be written in the ‘active’ or ‘passive’ voice.

The active voice reads as follows:

‘I recommend ...’

The passive voice reads:

‘It is recommended that ...’

The active voice allows you to write short, punchysentences.

The passive appears more formal and considered.

Be aware of these differences and avoid mixing thetwo voices.

Simplicity

Most written reports should avoid using overlycomplicated language. If a report is to persuade, briefor justify, it's message must be clear. Furthermore,the factual presentation of data should not beswamped with sophisticated, lengthy sentences.

Avoid using unnecessary jargon. This confuses eventhe most informed reader.

Ensure that your abbreviations are standardised. Alltoo often authors invent their own jargon to ease thepressure on writing things in full. Be cautious ofconfusing your reader.

Use of language

Most reports should avoid the use of subjectivelanguage. For example, to report on a change incolouration from a "stunning green to a beautifulblue" is to project your own values onto a measur-able outcome. What does the term "beautiful" meanto you? What will it mean to your reader? Suchsubjective, or personal language commonly has noplace in the more objective field of report writing.

Writing Reports 10

Layout

Most reports have a progressive numbering system.The most common system is the decimal notationsystem.

The main sections are given single arabic numbers -1, 2, 3 and so on.

Sub-sections are given a decimal number - 1.1, 1.2,1.3 and so on.

Sub-sections can be further divided into - 1.11, 1.12,1.13 and so on.

An example structure would look as follows;

1. Introduction1.1 ———————-

1.11 ———————-1.2 ———————-

1.21 ———————-

2. Methodology2.1 ———————-

2.11 ———————-2.12 ———————-

The following suggestions will help you to producean easily read report:

• Leave wide margins for binding andfeedback comments from your tutor.

• Paragraphs should be short and concise.

• Headings should be clear - highlighted inbold or underlined.

• All diagrams and illustrations should belabelled and numbered.

• All standard units, measurements andtechnical terminology should be listed ina glossary of terms at the back of yourreport.

Presentation

Writing Reports 11

Once you have written the first draft of your reportyou will need to check it through. It is probablysensible to leave it on your desk for a day or so if youhave the time. This will make a clear break from theintensive writing period, allowing you to view yourwork more objectively.

Assess your work in the following areas:

• Structure

• Content

• Style

Look at the clarity and precision of your work.

Use the report writing checklist at the end of thissection to check your report.

You may like to carry out a more formal evaluation.Use the section Assessing yourself to help you draftassessment criteria and evaluate your work.

The skills involved in writing a report will help youto condense and focus information, drawing objec-tive findings from detailed data.

The ability to express yourself clearly and succinctlyis an important skill and is one that can be greatlyenhanced by approaching each report in a plannedand focused way.

Redrafting andchecking

Summary

Writing Reports 12

• Title pageDoes this include the :

Title?Author’s name?Module/course details?

• AcknowledgementsHave you acknowledged all sources of help?

• ContentsHave you listed all the main sections insequence?Have you included a list of illustrations?

• Abstract or summaryDoes this state:

The main task?The methods used?The conclusions reached?The recommendations made?

• IntroductionDoes this include:

Your terms of reference?The limits of the report?An outline of the method?A brief background to the subject matter?

• MethodologyDoes this include:

The form your enquiry took?The way you collected your data?

• Reports and findingsAre your diagrams clear and simple?Are they clearly labelled?Do they relate closely to the text?

• DiscussionHave you identified key issues?Have you suggested explanations for yourfindings?Have you outlined any problems encountered?Have you presented a balanced view?

Checklist

Writing Reports 13

• Conclusions and recommendationsHave you drawn together all of your mainideas?Have you avoided any new information?Are any recommendations clear and concise?

• ReferencesHave you listed all references alphabetically?Have you included all the necessaryinformation?Are your references accurate?

• AppendicesHave you only included supportinginformation?Does the reader need to read these sections?

• Writing styleHave you used clear and concise language?Are your sentences short and jargon free/Are your paragraphs tightly focused?Have you used the active or the passive voice?

• LayoutHave you clearly labelled each section?Is your labelling consistent throughout thereport?

• PresentationHave you left sufficient margin space forbinding/feedback?Are your headings clear?Have you checked your spelling?

Overall:

• What are the main points for consideration?

• What have you done well?

• What needs fine tuning?